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By Jane C. Timm
Women go to the House of Representatives with a record number.
Wednesday morning, at least 95 women had won seats, breaking the record of the current session of 84 women. Twenty-five races with at least one candidate were left undecided.
This is the latest in a record year for women, who ran for Congress to win a record number of historic victories and also won their primaries. In total, more than 115 women won their races out of the 276 registered voters: 11 women were elected to the Senate and 9 women were elected to the governorship.
And it's not just in the numbers: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the youngest woman elected to the House, while Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib are the first Muslim women elected to the House. Sharice Davids, a lesbian, lawyer and martial arts veteran, defeated a Republican MP in Kansas and will join Debra Haaland of New Mexico, another Democrat winner Tuesday, as the first Native American woman elected to Congress.
Women also contributed to a series of vital democratic gains to regain control of the House: Elaine Luria, a Democrat, won in the 2nd District of Virginia, and Jennifer Wexton, a Democrat, won the 10th. Democrat Abby Finekenaur took the victory in Iowa's 1st congressional district, and Abigail Spanberger in the 7th district of Virginia. All have defeated Republican incumbents.
There have been a handful of surprises – Democrat Kendra Horn has won a Republican seat in Oklahoma's Fifth Congressional District – and some notable defeats in women. Amy McGrath, a former fighter pilot, has lost her candidacy to the Kentucky and North Dakota House of Commons. Heidi Heitkamp lost his race for reelection.
Nine women won governorates, setting a record precedent. The four governors in office – the Republican of Alabama, Kay Ivey, Iowa Republican Kim Reynolds, Rhode Island Democrat, Gina Raimondo, and Oregon Democrat, Kate Brown – have held their seats, but the governors' mansions in the country will also see new faces.
Democrat Laura Kelly has defeated Republican Secretary of State Kris Kobach in Kansas, Democrat Gretchen Whitmer in Michigan and Democrat Janet Mills in Maine. The record could still be beaten if Georgian Stacey Abrams – whose race is currently too early to call with Republican Brian Kemp in the lead, according to NBC News – wins the seat.
The wave of women was almost entirely fueled by the Democrats, who put an incredible number of women on the ballot. Half of the unelected Democratic candidates in the House were women, compared to just 18% of unelected Republican candidates. On Tuesday, in the House, in the Senate and among governors, of the 276 women registered, 77% were Democrats.
These women did not just break records, they set fire to the political book by saying that women had to be twice as qualified, twice as polite and twice as attentive as their male counterparts to succeed. In recent years, women have first appeared in positions in state offices and local offices, but this year the competition has attracted fighter pilots, teachers, managers, nurses and even mothers so tired of politics that they have decided to take control of themselves.
Some hope that this election will change things forever in a male dominated political world since the male assemblies of Athens. If women such as Finkenauer (Iowa), a 29-year-old democrat who speaks freely about her student loans as part of an offer against a Republican party of tea party, and Lucy McBath, of Georgia, an air hostess whose murder of the son has propelled her into politics, can run for office. Congress, the possibilities for others extend considerably.
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